Door opening structure



June 14, 1966 Y l. J. sPAETH ETAL 3,255,554

DOOR OPENING STRUCTURE ATTORNE 5 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l. J. SPAETH ETAL DooR OPENING STRUCTURE June 14, 1966 AFiled oon. g4, 1963 INVENTORS.' [RV/N J. .SPAETH V/cToR JAUTDKAS` EYZg gli.)

ATTORN S United States 4Patent O 3,255,554 DOOR OPENING STRUCTURE Irvin J. Spaeth and Victor Jantokas, Chicago, Ill., assignors to American Seal-Kap Corporation of Delaware, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 24, 1963, Ser. No. 318,666 18 Claims. (Cl. 49-449) The invention relates to railway house cars and consists particularly in means for unlocking and opening sliding doors of the flush 'type from the inside of the car.

Flush doors of conventional construction are arranged to be unlocked only from the outside of the car, by breaking the seal, lifting the operating levers out of their latch recess and pulling them outwardly from the door to rotate the locking shafts from the locked to the unlocked position. In some instances, because of space limitations at loading docks, it is impossible to operate the operating levers from outside the cars, making it necessary to provide means for unlocking and opening the car doors from the inside.

Accordingly, it is the principal object of the invention to provide flush door locking means which can be released frorn within the car.

It is a further object to provide locking means for flush doors which can be released from within the car without breaking the car door seal.

It is a further object to provide locking means for flush doors which can be released from within the car without breaking the seal but cannot be released from outside the car without breaking the seal.

The foregoing and additional more detailed objects and advantages will appear from the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side view of a railway house car side including a door embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view along line 2--2 of FIG. 1, showing the inside lock operating means.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are enlarged transverse vertical sectional views along line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of a car door with inside lock operating means taken from the inside of the car.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary side view of a car door showing a modified form of the invention.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are transverse vertical sectional views along lines 7-7 and-8 8 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a horizontal sectional view along line 9--9 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 10 is a horizontal sectional view along line 14)- 10 of FIG. 1. f

The numeral 1 refers to an upright house car side Wall having a rectangular opening 3. A track 5 is lixed to wall 1 beneath opening 3 and extends to the right therefrom and mounts roller carriages 7. Flush door 9 lits into opening 3. Spaced upright mounting shafts 13 and 14 lare journaled at 15 on the door and each mounts crank arms 17 and 19 at its lower and upper ends, respectively, lower crank arms 17 being pivotally received in carriages 7 to support the door and to permit it to swing inwardly and outwardly of the opening and when swung outwardly, to move lengthwise of the car side. Upper crank arms 19 mount rollers 21 engaging top retainer 23.

Adjacent each of the mounting shafts 13, 14, operating shafts 25, 25 are journaled on the door by means of bearings 26 and are provided at their upper and lower ends with offset crank lugs 27 and 29 respectively. Above and below opening 3, keepers 31 and 33 are affixed to the car side Wall, and each has a cam-like slot inclined to the car side and engageable by lugs 27 and 29 when pice f operating shafts 25 are rotated, forcing the door inwardly or outwardly of the dooropening, according to the direction of rotation.

The above described structure is illustrated and described in detail in Patent 2,979,787 to Thomas C. Soddy. For actuating operating shafts 25, each operating shaft rigidly mounts a collar 37 of noncircular or polygonal cross section preferably square with one corner rounded. A sleeve 39 is slidably mounted on shaft 25 above collar 37 and has a lower downwardly open pocket portion 41 of the same square cross section as collar 37 with one corner rounded, so as to make registry with the collar possible in only one position, i.e., when the rounded corners are aligned. Slidable sleeve 39 is normally positioned with its pocket portion 41 seated' on and receiving the upper portion of collar 37. For preventing moisture, dust, and dirt from fouling the cooperating surfaces of shafts 25 and sleeve 39, a cap sleeve 42.is affixed to the shaft above the slidable sleeve. Slidable sleeve 39 is formed with a bracket 43, normally extending parallel to the plane of-the door, to which is pivotally secured operating lever 45. The operating levers 45, 45 associated with both operating shafts 25, 25 normally extend parallel to the plane of the door and rest in an upwardly open recess in lever holder 47 on the outer surface of the door intermediate shafts 25. The levers are retained in the lever holder 47 recess, against other than axiall movement therein, by -means of a pivoted retainer 49 which overlies the recess in holder 47 and is normally secured in this position by a conventional door seal 48. To open the door from the outside if sealed, seal 48 must be broken, retainer 49 rotated to -clear the lever holder recess, the operating levers lifted out of the recess and pulled outwardly from the door, thereby rotating slidable sleeves 39, and through4 the engagement of the slidable sleeves 39 and collars 37, similarly rotating shafts 25 to move lugs 27 and 29 out of keepers 31 and 33. To prevent rotation lof shafts 25 beyond their full open and -closed positions, a channel shaped stop member 50 issecured by its webs to each of the shafts immediately below the upper bearings 26, as best seen in FIG. 10, so that when the shafts are in the locking position one of the channel flanges engages the extended base plate of bearing 26, and when the shafts are rotated 180 therefrom the full open position, the other flange engages the bearingbase plate.

A housing 51, arcuate in plan and having spaced fiat top and bottom walls 53 and 55 and a peripheral ange 57, by means of which it is secured to the door, surrounds fixed sleeve 37 and its top and bottom walls are circularly apertured at 59 and 61 to permit the passage v of shaft 25 through lboth walls and of sleeve 39 through the upper wall. For fixing the height of collar 37 and sealing the bottom wall against admission of moisture, an annular ange 63, formed by welding a washer on shaft 25 below collar 37, rests on the bottom wall 55 of the housing. `For sealing top wall aperture 59 against the admission of moisture and dirt, sleeve 39 is formed with an annular ange 65, the periphery of 'which is downwardly flanged lat 67 to overlap an upward peripheral flange 69 surrounding aperature 59.

To provide for operation of shafts 2S from inside the car, door 9 is formed with rectangular openings 71 registering with the upper halves of housings 51, i.e., with their lower beveled edges 73 just below the level of the normal positions of the bottoms of sliding sleeve pockets 41.

The lower beveled edge 73 of opening 71 is adapted to support, and form the fulcrum for, a square head wrench 74, which can be manually inserted through opening 7-1 from the inside of the car, fitted on collar 37 and pressed downwardly on its handle to raise pocket 41 clear of collar 37, as seen in FIG. 4. With pocket 41 clear of collar 37 the wrench may be utilized to rotate shaft 25 to its unlocked position without causing levers 45 to move outwardly from the surface of the door, thus not disturbing7 the door seal and the door may be manually pushed outwardly of the car side as permitted by-crank arms 17 and 19 and rolled to the open position on track 5. While shafts 25 are in the unlocked position, collar 37 will be out of registry with pocket 41, preventing engagement therebetween, and consequent operative connection between layers 45 and shafts 25 when the shafts are in the unlocked position and the levers are in their sealed locking position.

For preventing unauthorized operation of the operating shafts from the outside of the car by lifting sleeves 39 to free the shafts from the sealed levers, the exterior of pocket portions 41 of sleeeves 39 are of larger diameter than the upper portions of the sleeves, thus forming an upwardly facing shoulder 75 on the sleeve. A latch comprising an upright member 77 pivoted at its upper end at 78 to the door above opening 71 and a horizontal tongue 79 near its lower end is normally urged outwardly by spring 81 to the position shown in FIG. 3, in which tongue 79 overlies shoulder 75 and prevents upward movement of sleeve 39. When it is desired to unlock and open the door from the inside of the car, latch tongue 79 may be retracted from its overlying relation with shoulder 75 to the position shown in FIG. 4, by grasping the lower protruding end 83 of latch member 77 and pulling inwardly. When shafts 25 are rotated back to their unlocking positions and sleeves 39 lowered to their normal positions engaging collars 37, spring 81 returns tongue 79 to its normal latching position shown in FIG. 3.

Operation of the structure is as follows: If it is desired to open the door from the outside, the seal is broken, lever retainer 49 is rotated out of its closed position, levers 45, 45 are lifted out of the holder 47 recess and pulled outwardly from the car door. Through the engagement of sleeves 39 with collars 37 on shafts 25 this outward movement of levers 45 causes rotation of shaft 25 and of crank lugs 27 and 29 in their respective keepers 31 and 33, releasing the lugs from the keepers and initiating outward movement of the door. Further outward movement of the door to clear the car side is accomplished by pulling on handle 10 first outwardly and then parallel to the car side until the door clears opening 3. Closing and locking the door is accomplished by the same steps in reverse order.

IIf it is desired to open the door from the inside, latch 77, 79 is retracted against the pressure of spring 81 to permit upward movement of sleeve 39, square head wrench 74 is inserted through opening 71, rested on the lower edge 73 thereof and pressed downwardly so that its head fitting around collar 37 and bearing against the lower rim of sleeve pocket 41, urges the latter upwardly to clear the upper surface of collar 37. The wrench handle is then rotated causing, through collar 37, corresponding rotation of shaft 25 and of crank lugs 27 and 29 in their respective keepers 31 and 33 to initiate out- .ward movement of the door from opening 3 and release the lugs from their keepers. This operation is repeated on the other shaft 25, the door is pushed outwardly of the car wall on crank arms 17 and then pushed parallel to the car wall on track by manually engaging the left hand edge of the door as viewed in FIG. l until the door completely clears opening 3. When sleeves 39 were elevated to clear collars 37 by means of square head-wrench 74 levers 45 were moved mainly axially in holder 47 recess but it did not require breaking the seal and rotation of lever retainer 49 to permit such movement. Upon closure of the door, it can be relocked from the inside by rotating wrench 74 in the opposite direction, causing corresponding rotation of collar 37, shaft 25 and of the crank lugs 27 and 29 into and within their respective keepers 31 and 33. When this occurs collar 37 will again be in registry with pocket 41 of slidable sleeve 39 which will drop by gravity from the position shown in FIG. 4 to that shown in FIG. 3, and latch tongue 79 will overlie sleeve shoulder 75 so that additional rotation of shaft 25 will require corresponding movement of lever 45 outwardly from the door which cannot be effected without breaking the seal.

ln the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 6-9, operating shafts 25 are similarly provided with a square collar S5 with one corner rounded and the shafts also mount sliding sleeves 87 formed with downwardly open pockets 89 similar in cross section to collars 85, above collars and in engagement therewith. Sleeves S7 are formed with horizontal lbrackets 91 extending parallel to the surface of the door and pivotally mounting operating levers 45, which are normally seated in latch 47 recess as is shown in FIG. l. This embodiment of the invention eliminates the housing 51 of the rst embodiment in order to reduce the lateral clearance required. Instead of the housing, door 9 is provided with a rectangular aperture 92 surrounded by rectangular frame 93, the inner marginal portions 95 of which are spaced slightly outwardly of the door surface to form guide slots for closure plate 97 which is slidable upwardly in the guide slots to a pocket formed above the aperture at 99. Extending through the lower portion of closure plate 97 is the lower leg of a generally Z-shaped member 101, the upper leg of which overlies sleeve lever mounting bracket 91, other than vertical movement of member 101 being prevented by strap 103 on the outer surface of frame member 93 above the aperture therein. The inwardly extending lower leg of Z-shaped member 101 underlies a sliding bar 104 slidably mounted in spaced straps 105 on the inner surface of the door so that closure plate 97 cannot be raised nor can sleeve bracket 91 and sleeves S7 be raised to clear collars 85 unless sliding bar 104 is retracted from its overlying relation with the lower leg of Z-shaped bar member 101. With this embodiment, when it is desired to operate the door from the inside of the car, sliding bar 104 is retracted clear of member 101, closure plate 97 is raised, square head wrench 74 is fulcrumed on bar 109, secured to the inner surface of the door adjacent the lower margin of the aperture therethrough, and is used to raise sleeve 87 clear of collar 85,l

this latter movement being permitted by the upward movement of member 101 when the closure plate is raised, and the wrench is rotated, causing, through collar 85, corresponding rotation of shaft 25 and of its crank lugs 27 and 29 out of lo-cking Iposition.` The door then may Ibe swung and rolled to its full open position by engagement of its inner surface and its edge. This entire operation, as with the first embodiment of the invention, is accomplished without breaking the seal since only axial movement of levers 45 in their latch recess is required. The door may be similarly locked from the inside by moving it until crank lugs 27 and 29 are adjacent their respective keepers 31 and 33, rotating the wrench until the lugs are firmly seated in their keepers, at which time collar 85 and pocket 89 will be in registry with each other and sleeves 87 will drop by gravity into engagement with collars 85. The wrench may then be retracted, closure plate 97 slid downwardly to its closed position and locking bar 104 slid into overlying engagement with the lower leg of member 101, thereby preventing any rotation of shaft 25 to the unlocked position without breaking the seal and manipulating operating levers 45.

The details of the structure may be modified substantially without departing from the spirit of the invention and the exclusive use of such modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims is contemplated.

yWhat is claimed is:

1. Locking means for a sliding door of the type which closes into a door opening in a wall, substantially Hush with the wall, including a locking shaft journaled on the exterior of the door and having eccentric lugs on its ends, keepers on the wall adjacent the ends of the shaft for receiving said lugs, the keepers for the lugs being adapted, upon rotation of the shaft in one direction, to force the door closed and lock it closed, and adapted upon rotation of the shaft in the opposite direction to unlock the door and move it outward, a lever on the outsde of the door connected to sad shaft and rotatable about the axis of said shaft for rotating said shaft between locked and unlocked positions, and means operable solely from inside the door for disconnecting said shaft from said lever and for rotating said shaft between locked and unlocked positions from inside the door without rotating said lever about the axis of said shaft.

2. Locking means for a sliding door of the type which closes into a door opening in a Wall, substantially flush with the wall, including a locking shaft journaled on the exterior of the door and having eccentric lugs on its ends, keepers on the wall adjacent the ends of the shaft for receiving said lugs, the keepers for the lugs being adapted, upon rotation of the shaft in one direction, to force the door closed and lock it closed, and adapted upon rotation of the shaft in the oppositeA direction to unlock the door and move it outward, a lever on the outside of the door connected to said shaft for rotating the same between locked and unlocked positions, a seal securing said lever against movement in planes perpendicular to the surface of lthe door, and means operable solely from inside the door for disconnecting said shaft from said lever and for rotating said shaft between locked and unlocked positions from inside the door without breaking said seal.

3. Locking means for a sliding door of the type which closes into a door opening in a wall, substantially flush with the wall, including a locking shaft journaled on the exterior of the door and having eccentric lugs on its ends, keepers on the wall adjacent the ends of the shafts for receiving said lugs, the keepers for the lugs being adapted upon rotation of the shaft in one direction to force the door closed and lock it closed, and adapted upon rotation of the shaft in the opposite direction to unlock the door and move it outward, a collar of noncircular cross section xed on the shaft intermediate its ends, a sleeve on said shaft having a pocket of Similar noncircular cross section in one end normally receiving said collar and slidable on said shaft out of engagement with said collar, a lever secured to said sleeve and positioned parallel to the outer surface of said door when said shaft is in locking position, means inside the door normally engaging said sleeve and preventing its disengagement from said collar, said means being disengageable from said sleeve only from inside the door, and an aperture in said door adjacent said collar and adapted to permit the passage therethrough from inside said door of a Wrench engageable with said collar and with a horizontal surface of said sleeve for sliding said sleeve out of engagement with said collar and rotating said collar and shaft to the unlocking position and back to the locking position.

4. Locking means according to claim 3 in which said sleeve is formed with lan upwardly facing surface and the means for preventing upward movement of said sleeve is a member carried by said door and normally engaging said upwardly facing surface, said member being retractable inwardly therefrom.

5. Locking means according to claim 3 in which said retractable member is pivoted to said door and resiliently urged outwardly into engagement with said sleeve Surface.

6. Locking means according to claim 3 in which said lever is pivoted at one end to said sleeve on an laxis normal to the door and the door mounts a latch member receiving a portion of said lever remote from the pivoted end and adapted to selectively prevent and permit other than axial movement of said lever.

7. Locking means according to claim 6, in which there are a pair of said locking shafts spaced apart from each other.

8. Locking means according to claim 7, in which both said levers are similarly received in said latch members.

9. Locking means according to claim 3 -in which said collar and pocket are both of polygonal cross section.

10. Locking means according to claim 9 in which said collar and pocket both have one corner rounded.

11. Locking means according to claim 9 in which the polygons are squares.

12. Locking means according to claim 3 including a housing protruding from the outer surface `of said door and enclosing said collar and the collar-receiving pocket portion of said sleeve.

13. Locking means according to claim 12 in which the lower portion of said sleeves is formed with an upwardly facing surface and `the means for preventing upward movement `of said sleeve comprises a member carried by said door normally engaging said upwardly facing surface, said member being retractable inwardly therefrom.

14. Locking means according to claim 3 in which said sleeve is formed with an upwardly facing surface and there is a normally closed closure on said aperture openable only from inside the door, said closure mounting an element engageable with said sleeve surface when said closure is closed and retractable therefrom when said closure is opened to permit upward movement of said sleeve.

15. ILocking means according lto claim 14 in which another element projects inwardly from said closure and the door slidably mounts a generally horizontal bar normally overlying said inwa-rdly projecting element and is retractable therefrom to permit raising said closure.

16. Locking means according to claim 14 -in which said closure is slidablel upwardly in said door to clear said aperture and said sleeve-engaging element projects outwardly from said closure so that when said closure is Vraised said sleeve is'free to be raised.

' 17. Locking means according to claim 16 in which said lsleeve-engaging element comprises a generally Z-shaped bar with its upper leg projecting outwardly from said closure to `overlie said sleeve surface and its lower leg projecting inwardly from the closure.

1S. Locking means according to claim 17 in which the door slidably mounts a generally horizontal bar normally overlying the lower leg of said Z-shaped member and retractable therefrom to permit raising said closure.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,140,570 12/1938 Young 292-25 2,497,328 2/1950 Smith et a1. 292-169 2,565,657 8/1951 Haseltine 20-23 3,099,864 8/1963 Nelson 20-.-23

HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Primary Examiner.

A. I. BREIER, Assistant Examiner. 

1. LOCKING MEANS FOR A SLIDING DOOR OF THE TYPE WHICH CLOSES INTO A DOOR OPENING IN A WALL, SUBSTANTIALLY FLUSH WITH THE WALL, INCLUDING A LOCKING SHAFT JOURNALED ON THE EXTERIOR OF THE DOOR AND HAVING ECCENTRIC LUGS ON ITS ENDS, KEEPERS ON THE WALL ADJACENT THE ENDS OF THE SHAFT FOR RECEIVING SAID LUGS, THE KEEPERS FOR THE LUG BEING ADAPTED, UPON ROTATION OF THE SHAFT IN ONE DIRECTION, TO FORCE THE DOOR CLOSED AND LOCK IT CLOSED, AND ADAPTED UPON ROTATION OF THE SHAFT IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION TO UNLOCK THE DOOR AND MOVE IT OUTWARD, A LEVER ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE DOOR CONNECTED TO SAID SHAFT AND ROTATABLE ABOUT THE AXIS OF 